Rep. Cumming’s casket was placed on the same catafalque that held President Abraham Lincoln’s casket. Photo by Kristie Baxter.
Members of Congress, Rep. Cumming’s family and friends, and other invited guests gathered to pay their respects at the Celebration of Life Ceremony. Photo by Eric Connolly.
Several Members of the House of Representatives eulogized Rep. Cummings during the Celebration of Life Ceremony. Photo by Eric Connolly.
Rep. Cummings’ casket was carried into the Capitol, where he laid in state in Statuary Hall. Photo by Franmarie Metzler.
The Capitol Rotunda will be open from 1 p.m. - 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 24, for the public to pay their respects
Eulogized as a "giant," a "generous mentor," and "our North Star," Representative Elijah Cummings was honored during a Celebration of Life Ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, October 24, 2019.
Rep. Cummings died on Thursday, October 17, 2019. He was 68 years old.
He represented Maryland's 7th district for 23 years and served on various committees over his career, including as a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and as the Chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. He started his career as a civil servant in the Maryland State House of Delegates in 1983 and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996.
“There are some people who come to Washington because they’re ambitious to leave their hometowns. And then there are people who come to Washington because they will never leave their hometowns behind,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) during the Celebration of Life Ceremony. “Elijah Cummings did not just represent Baltimore. He embodied it, celebrated its victories, sought to advocate for its needs, and worked to heal its wounds.”
Members of the House held a moment of silence in honor of Rep. Cummings on October 17 and multiple Members spoke on the House floor about their admiration and respect for Rep. Cummings.
“Chairman Cummings’s story was the story of America,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA-12) said on the House floor. “A sharecropper's son who dedicated his life to advancing justice, respecting human dignity, and ending discrimination. He believed in the promise of America because he had lived it and he dedicated his life to advancing those values that safeguard our republic: justice, equality, liberty, and fairness.”
The Capitol Rotunda will be open from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 24, for the public to pay their respects. To enter the Rotunda, the public must enter through the Capitol Visitor Center, located beneath the East Front plaza of the U.S. Capitol at First Street and East Capitol Street NE.